I got the LED DRL's installed. I had my dealer install them, as it's getting cold here in the Midwest. It was the first set my dealer had installed, and the tech's were pretty excited to see them work. They are very impressive, with the amount of light output surpassing my expectations, as well as the very cool look to having the LED "halo" rings glowing brightly during the day. They are a perfect compliment to the Xenon headlights, having a very sharp cutoff and are designed to pick up exactly at the bottom edge of the Xenon beam. This has the effect of really broadening the lights and spreading the beams further out on each side of the road. And, running them in the evening, they put out almost as much light as a low beam headlight.

Here's a look at the various configurations they offer.
This is how they run as DRL's, full ring...







This is the foglight function…which matches the Xenons in color/crispness and put out about three times more light than the standard halogen fogs...



This is what they look like when I unlock the car…



Headlights on, fogs off, top third of ring stay lit…



This is the DRL used in the evening, headlights switched off…




-Steven

 

I think they look better with HID than Halogen... I though about doing this but it was just a bit pricey for something I'm not sure would have look good with our Halogen.

Looks great though! a bit jealous . . . then again I can't compete with your car . . . too many updates going on all the time

 

Ain't that the truth! Looks great Steven.

So let me get this straight...when you go into your Settings menu on the Nav screen and select the DRL option, the old function (headlights) is now disabled and replaced by the new LEDs? And you still get the top ring, even if the DRL option is disabled?

 

I think you're right about he Halogen's, the color temp would be off. For sure…my modding bug is OUT OF CONTROL



-Steven

 

You should start spacing it out before running out dry . . .

 

Correct, what you get is the full ring as the DRL. I previously ran my headlights as my DRL's, now, switch set to auto headlights, only the full rings lit(daylight) until ambient degrades and then the Xenons are on with the top third ring lit. (I hope that made sense)


-Steven

 

That is really good advice…I'll try…I'll try…I'll try...



-Steven

 

I don't even drive a roadster, but saw your thread/car a couple of months back....and I'm a fan....sweet ride....well done!

 

They look fantastic, Steven. I have this mod on the list. Thanks for the inspiration, as always.

 

Thanks
Thanks MR.T, you won't be disappointed with these. This is one of my favorite mods…and very cool Mini took the time to get these right. I sent you a PM


-Steven

 

Checked ECS tuning and they have them on back order. If you don't mind telling, where did you pick them up?.

 

I checked with Aaron at Outmotoring.com, he had two sets in stock. Good luck.


-Steven

 

Yes. My other go to source. Thanks

 

If they had two, they now have zero. Ordered thanks again.

 

Yeah, I'm glad you moved on it You're going to love this mod


-Steven

 

I've been playing around with an idea I've had in my head for a while. I've seen something like this on Audi's "S" vehicles, as well as many modified BMW "M" cars I've seen through my association with IND. I spent some time playing with different shapes in cardboard and fitting them to the JCW. I chose this shape for it's simple clean line and the I think it integrates well with the rest of JCW design, adding a little more visual interest and aggression to the R59. I fabricated this out of ABS plastic. As of now, I finished it in the same metallic grey as the headlight rings and side scuttles. If I keep the design and like how it looks, I'll send it off to be wrapped in Carbon Fiber. Here's a look…



I used 1/4" spacers to drop it down a bit and get the leading edge exposed...











-Steven

 

Great new look Steven...very professional-looking work. It appears that you didn't have to sacrifice any of your remaining ground clearance too.

 

Thanks Gary, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I've had it on the Roadster for about four days now, and a few minor tweaks and then I think it needs a Carbon Fiber wrap.


-Steven

 

I love your car but if you want my opinion, to be honest, I'm not too crazy about it. I think it's busier just for the heck of being busy and for me it never really works that great. It's a bit of a fad thing to make the car look like racing cars.
I understand this is quite popular in the bimmer realm but I don't care too much about the mechanical look it gives to otherwise more resolved design.

I prefer the "step" change of the original trim which to me is more aggressive looking as it emphasis the wheel+tire impact from the front as if they are more planted to the road if you see what I mean.
This to my eyes tend to flatten everything (not the same as lowering).
It probably isn't great for the aerodynamics either but I don't know if you get your car on Track so it may not matter all that much other than the possible added noise that could occur at higher speed... again, only you can tell

Just my personal take, but if you like it that's what counts

I would say however that I like the shine of the black/dark grey in contrast with the rubbery look of the OE trim. It gives it nice touch of added sporty "bling". I'm not too sure of the carbon fiber look. It's over done by now...

In short it's subtle enough that I could live with it. . . it's just personal taste


To me, what bother me the most with the JCW is the lack of refinement of the external lower corners of that front spoiler. I really wish they had spend a little more time on that detail. It's slightly bulky looking as it turns the corner from the sides to the front.
I could imagine putting so stylized air vents just to lightened it up a bit, or modify it all together.
I know they probably did this to make it look wider but they could have done a better job, more refined.
But I'm getting off tangent here

As I'm saying, if you like it I'm cool with it

 

I had not seen any Carbon Fiber mods here in Salt Lake. I added some to mine, but not in the usual places.

I put it on the spoiler and the bumper.

 

I had not seen any Carbon Fiber mods here in Salt Lake. I added some to mine, but not in the usual places.

I put it on the spoiler and the bumper.

[ATTACH](null)[/ATTACH]

 

Thanks TG, I welcome any and all comments…that's what's great about forums like these, a give and take of ideas/mods.

I understand what you expressed about the JCW design having a "resolved" design. After looking at this mod for nearly a week, I'm still happy with it. It has the effect of visually pulling shape forward and grounding it somewhat, which was what I was going for.

The addition of Carbon Fiber on my JCW is part of an overall design aesthetic I have been working with on this car. If I keep the lower spoiler on, having it in CF is a natural choice for me.

Thanks again for taking the time to express your thoughts, I really appreciate it


-Steven

 

Rod,

I can't see your pics


-Steven

 

Yeah, it's a parsing error. I changed my profile pic to show the car... The iPhone app needs to be fixed.

Black Widow

 

You're not the first to complain about the iPhone app. Frustrating!


-Steven